(CNSNews.com) — Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) says members of Congress “earn” their $174,000 per year salary (plus benefits) and that this compensation is “not elaborate.”

“The benefits and salary that we get, we earn,” Johnson said at the Annesbrooks HOA Candidate Forum in Georgia in October. “It’s not elaborate, it’s just a bunch of poppycock that a lot of people have spread around trying to get us to hate our own government and our government representatives.”

According to a Congressional Research Services report compensation for most representatives and senators is $174,000 a year.

Here's the deal. They're all on the dole outside of politics. The IDEA however was for them to be comfortable financially so they couldn't be swayed by outside interests. Unfortunately, that didn't work so much.

Is he seriously concerned the island would "capsize"? I kept expecting him to say it was a joke, but he never even smiled.

I don't know if the guy really believed that or not. Some people have suggested that he was having medication (or blood sugar, I can't remember which) problems that day and that he didn't literally mean "capsize". But it sure is strange and it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen from an elected official. That Admiral's ability to maintain his respectful, serious tone was admirable.

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“The American people are tired of liars and people who pretend to be something they’re not.” - Hillary Clinton